1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device including a semiconductor package in which a semiconductor element and a metal body for heat dissipation are integrated which is cooled by coolant, and relates to a semiconductor device including a plurality of such semiconductor packages stacked on one another.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally such a semiconductor device includes a semiconductor package constituted of a semiconductor element, a metal body thermally connected to the semiconductor element to transfer heat from the semiconductor element, a seal section sealingly enclosing the semiconductor element and the metal body such that a heat dissipation surface of the metal body is exposed from the seal section, and a case section accommodating the seal section so as to form a coolant channel through which coolant flows. The semiconductor element and the metal body are disposed within the coolant channel, so that the heat dissipation surface of the metal body is cooled by the coolant.
Japanese Paten Application Laid-open No. 2006-165534 discloses stacking a plurality of such semiconductor packages such that one ends of main current terminals connected to the semiconductor elements and projecting outside from the case sections of the respective semiconductor packages are connected to a bus bar.
However, the above described conventional semiconductor device has a problem in that a bus bar has to be provided, and there are many portions which have to be welded or soldered. Further, since the current path between the bus bar and each of the main current terminals is long, the current path has a large inductance.